About This Career

Cuts, trims, or prepares consumer-sized portions of meat for use or sale in retail establishments.

This career is part of the Manufacturing cluster Production pathway.

A person in this career:

• Prepares and places meat cuts and products in display counter to appear attractive and catch the shopper's eye.
• Wraps, weighs, labels, and prices cuts of meat.
• Cuts, trims, bones, ties, and grinds meats, such as beef, pork, poultry, and fish, to prepare in cooking form.
• Prepares special cuts of meat ordered by customers.
• Receives, inspects, and stores meat upon delivery to ensure meat quality.
• Estimates requirements and orders or requisitions meat supplies to maintain inventories.
• Shapes, laces, and ties roasts, using boning knife, skewer, and twine.
• Totals sales, and collects money from customers.
• Records quantity of meat received and issued to cooks or keeps records of meat sales.
• Supervises other butchers or meat cutters.

Working Conditions and Physical Demands

People who do this job report that:

• You would often handle loads up to 50 lbs., sometimes up to 100 lbs. You will need a lot of strength at this level.
• Work in this occupation involves use of protective items such as safety shoes, glasses, gloves, hearing protection, a hard hat, or personal flotation devices
• Conditions are very hot (above 90 F) or very cold (under 32 F)
• Work in this occupation involves using your hands to hold, control, and feel objects more than one-third of the time
• Exposed to hazardous equipment such as saws, machinery, or vehicular traffic more than once a month
• Work in this occupation requires being inside most of the time
• Sound and noise levels are loud and distracting
• Work in this occupation involves making repetitive motions more than one-third of the time
• Work in this occupation involves standing more than one-third of the time

Working in this career involves (physical activities):

• Identifying color and seeing differences in color, including shades and brightness
• Seeing clearly up close
• Speaking clearly enough to be able to be understood by others
• Identifying and understanding the speech of another person
• Using abdominal and lower back muscles repeatedly or over time without tiring

Work Hours and Travel

• Regular working hours and limited travel